Pak minister appraises US on actions taken against terrorism

Pakistan’s commitment to fight terrorism from its soil was manifested by the successful conclusion of the operation Zarb-e-Azb, which was now being followed by a nationwide combing operation Rad-ul-Fisad, Ishaq Dar told the US national security adviser HR McMaster.

Seeking to reset ties with the US, visiting Pakistan finance minister Ishaq Dar stressed his country’s commitment to fighting terrorism at a meeting with the national security adviser HR McMaster at the White House.

Dar, who met McMaster and others in the Trump administration on Wednesday as a special envoy of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, told the NSA “Pakistan’s commitment to fight terrorism from its soil was manifested by the successful conclusion of the operation Zarb-e-Azb, which was now being followed by a nationwide combing operation Rad-ul-Fisad”, the Pakistani embassy here said in a statement.

“As a result of these efforts, the incidence of terrorism in Pakistan had significantly reduced,” it added.

The Americans responded, according to the same statement, with understanding. “The US side noted Pakistan’s sacrifices in war against terrorism and its support to strengthen Pakistan’s counter-terrorism capabilities.”

Though the embassy statement did not say Dar brought up the Kashmir issue with McMaster, he later told Pakistani reporters, according to another release from the mission, that he did.

But no details were available of this part of their conversation.

US-Pakistan ties have nosedived in recent years over Islamabad’s continued reluctance to act against all terrorist groups operating from its soil, and not just against those that do not serve its strategic needs and priorities.

The Trump administration has been under pressure to adopt a tough line with Pakistan, and McMaster said during a recent visit to the region that Islamabad needs to go after terrorist groups “less selectively than they have in the past”.